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Background

The Nease Chemical Superfund site consists of 44 acres along state Route 14 two and a half miles northwest of Salem on the Columbiana-Mahoning county line.

Between 1961 and 1973, Nease Chemical produced various household cleaning compounds, fire retardants and pesticides—some of which included an uncommon chemical called mirex. The company used unlined ponds to treat waste from its manufacturing process. Hazardous substances seeped into the soil and ground water from these ponds as well as from buried drums that eventually leaked. (more...)

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Site Updates

November 2013

The Nease Chemical site is divided into two portions—the Middle Fork of Little Beaver Creek and the Nease property. Ground water, on-site source areas, and the creek all need to be addressed to achieve a total cleanup. While there have been two legal agreements in place since 2006 that cover the cleanup’s “design,” one more agreement, called a Consent Decree, is being negotiated that will require site owner Rutgers Organics Corp. to build and maintain the actual cleanup of both portions.

Consent Decrees require the U.S. Department of Justice to act on EPA’s behalf. We expect this one to be “lodged” in federal court in late 2014. At that time, DOJ will announce a public comment period in the Federal Register because all comments must be sent to DOJ. Department officials will review and respond to the comments before “entering” the consent decree in federal court where it will be deemed “final.” The final Consent Decree will be available on this Web page and at the public libraries in Salem and Lisbon.

When the legal requirements are completed, cleanup construction can begin in late 2014 and will take several years to complete.
Middle Fork of Little Beaver Creek

The cleanup for soil and sediment (mud) in the creek, scheduled to begin in 2015, will entail:

Ground water treatment.

Removal of the most contaminated sediment in the Middle Fork of Little Beaver Creek.

Removal of Feeder Creek sediment.

Removal of the most contaminated floodplain surface soil.

Disposal of contaminated soil and sediment at the old Nease plant site.

When the sediment is taken from the creek to the Nease site, it will be dried out and placed with contaminated soil from the former facility. It will be covered with clean soil and monitored to ensure that it doesn't move or leak. Details on this cleanup can be found in a 2008 document called the Record of Decision (PDF) (144pp, 10.5MB).

Contaminated soil currently on the Nease property will be handled in a similar way, according to a 2005 (Record of Decision for Operable Unit 2 (PDF) (144pp, 10.5MB). Dealing with environmental matters (such as contaminated soil and sediment) locally is a more responsible approach than sending it someplace else where it becomes another community's problem.

All of the work, which is being done and paid for by Rutgers Organics Corp., is overseen by EPA and Ohio EPA.Nease Property

Rutgers Organics Corp. is completing the design of a $22 million cleanup for the Nease property using an innovative technology called “nanoscale zero-valent iron," or NZVI. Pilot testing of this technology has been ongoing for several years. Full-scale cleanup is expected to being by 2015. NZVI involves the injection of microscopic particles of specially treated iron into the ground water. These tiny particles chemically clean deep ground water. It allows the particles to flow with the ground water while cleaning the underground aquifer as they reach into the smallest cracks in the bedrock under the site. The company also provided vapor treatment systems to some nearby homes to prevent potentially harmful vapors from entering the basements.

The rest of the site will be cleaned up beginning in 2015 using a combination of methods. Areas known as Ponds 1 and 2 will be cleaned up by mixing a cement-like substance into the ground to solidify any remaining contamination and then covered with a thick plastic sheet and a layer of clean soil. This cover will prevent rain from soaking through and further spreading the contamination. Other areas will be covered with only clean soil as detailed in the 2008 Record of Decision. A trench will be installed on the eastern and southern sides of the site to collect shallow ground water, pump it above ground, and treat it to remove contamination.

Based on what was learned from pilot tests and soil samples taken in 2008 and 2009, EPA modified its 2005 cleanup decision. The changes are outlined in a 2011 document called an Explanation of Significant Differences.